The Other Kurosaki
by MsMacBeth10
Summary: Toshiro Hitsugaya is a famous actor who will be filming his next movie in Karakura town. Yuzu is a big fan and asks her twin sister to help get them together. But there was a small problem: he falls in love...with the wrong Kurosaki.
1. Chapter 1

"Kyaa~!"

Karin awoke to the sound of her twin sister Yuzu's shrill scream one sunny morning. She groaned as she felt bright sunlight blind her eyes, and rubbed them quickly before reaching over for her alarm clock.

And almost dropped it in surprise.

The red numbers that flashed back at her read 5:15_ A.M._

What. The. Hell.

Who in the world would wake up _that_ early? School wasn't for another three hours!

Her sister, apparently.

"Yuzu, what are you doing, waking me up so early?" she moaned, collapsing back into bed. It should be a crime to wake someone up before 8, she decided, wondering why there wasn't a law about this in the constitution yet. _Maybe I should write a letter to the governor. I'm sure a thousand school children would support me. _Yeah, those were the wonderful ideas she thought of when she was sleep-derived.

Her sister danced into the room, acting far too energetic for someone who had woken up that early. Karin could never understand where her sister got her energy from. "Karin-chan, Karin-chan! My dream has come true!" She sang, bounding up and down in excitement.

Karin didn't know what dream she was talking about. As far as she knew, her sister had new dreams practically every day. She had dreamed to travel the world, to win the lottery, to buy her own house, to win the all-you-can-eat contest...the list went on and on and on. How was she to know which dream of Yuzu's had come true?

"Let me go back to bed so I can dream," Karin grumbled, closing her eyes again.

"No, no, Karin-chan!" Yuzu whined, pulling Karin's covers off. _That_ caught her attention. "You'll never believe what is happening! Toshiro Hitsugaya will be filming his next movie in Karakura Town!"

Karin fell out of her bed.

Mistaking her reaction for one of happiness (Karin really didn't know how she could have reached _this_ conclusion), Yuzu chirped on, "See, Karin-chan, I knew you'd be happy when I told you! Isn't this the greatest? I am finally one step closer in meeting him!"

Karin, on the other hand, was feeling anything but happy. She had had just about enough of Toshiro Hitsugaya. As her sister with a huge fan of him, she heard his name practically every single day. Even her friends at _school_ talked about him! It was always Toshiro this, Toshiro that. Couldn't they talk about something other than him for once? But no, they had to babble about him, like when he would appear on tv next, what upcoming movie he would be in, which clothing line suited his body the most, and who his next girlfriend would be.

It was sickening, the way they fawned over him like that. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost, because it was technically his fault that she didn't get enough sleep. She knew she was being ridiculous (it was the tv's fault more than his), but in her half-asleep mode, she really didn't care.

"Go away, Yuzu. I'm going back to sleep." she reached over for her covers, but Yuzu held them out of her grasp.

"Not yet, Karin-chan! There's something I wanted to ask. You love me, don't you?" Yuzu asked, gazing at Karin with wide, puppy-dog eyes. This act always worked on Ichi-nii, but Karin would never be fazed by Yuzu's pleading.

"Course I do. Now can I get my sheets back?"

"And since you love me, you'd want me to be happy, right?" she continued, clinging the sheets to herself so that Karin wouldn't be able to tug them back.

"Uh-huh," Karin mumbled, knowing that she was on to something.

Yuzu beamed at her. "You know how much I love him, right?"

Karin didn't need to be reminded of her sister's obsession with the movie star.

"So...you'll help me make him fall in love with me during his stay in Karakura, won't you, Karin-chan?"

Ha. She knew it. Karin knew her sister was planning something that included torturing her. She also knew that getting the two of them together would be a lost cause: who knew if they would even have a chance to meet the guy? But Karin was still half asleep, and she really wanted her sheets back, so she couldn't refuse her sister now. "Fine, whatever. Just let me go back to sleep."

"Thank you so much, Karin-chan! You're the best sister in the world!" Yuzu squealed, dropping the sheets back onto Karin's bed and giving her a quick hug before hurrying back out of the room.

Karin tried to go back to sleep, but all she could hear was the loud blaring of the tv in the living room, which she swore must have been turned up just because Yuzu wanted her to hear it.

"And the best news of it all, Karakura Town, is that Hitsugaya-san is still single," she could hear the excited voice of the female reporter as though the tv was right next to her ear. Yes, it was _that_ loud. "Well, there are rumors that he has been getting back into a relationship with his ex-girlfriend slash current co-star Momo Hinamori, but of course that's just a rumor."

Karin rolled her eyes when she repeated the word _rumor_. The reporter must either be talking to a young child, or someone who couldn't understand Japanese, because as far as Karin could tell, she had heard the word perfectly the first time. She never really understood paparazzi.

Knowing that she would have no chance of sleeping now, thanks to the stupid tv, Karin got out of bed and changed into her school uniform. She wasn't in the mood to deal with her sister, so she opted to slip out through the window instead, but not before grabbing her bag and trusted soccer ball.

She jogged to the park, taking a deep breath and relishing the early morning fresh air when she finally stopped. That was the one good thing about waking up early, she supposed. Plus she'd be able to get extra time to tone her soccer skills.

_Maybe I'll thank Yuzu when we win the next soccer game_, she mused, scanning the park with her eyes. She had expected it to be empty - no one in their right state of mind would be at the park this early in the morning - but froze when she saw someone sitting on a bench not far from her, preoccupied with his cellphone.

She narrowed her eyes as she studied the person. He was wearing a hat, presumably to hide his hair, and on top of which he also had a pair of sunglasses on, making him look like a kidnapper in disguise. Maybe he was contacting his accomplice and waiting for someone to deliver the ransom money to this location right now.

She backed away slowly, contemplating how much strength she needed to kick the ball into his face. It would be better for her to stop him before he could kidnap anyone, that was certain.

He was still too busy with his cellphone to notice her, so she took her time and set the ball onto the ground. She muttered "Here goes!" before aiming it right at him, feeling a surge of satisfaction as it struck him in the hand, causing him to drop his phone with surprise. He let out a yelp of pain and turned his attention to her.

"What the hell was that for?" he glared at her (at least, she assumed he was glaring at her, since she couldn't see his eyes through his sunglasses), not even pausing as he kicked the ball back to her expertly.

It was her turn to be surprised. Who knew the kidnapper played soccer so well?

Karin braced herself. "You're a kidnapper, aren't you, dressed like that?" she accused, pointing a finger at him.

For a moment, he only stared at her, before he burst into laughter. "I've been mistaken for many different people before, but this is the first time someone has accused me of being a _kidnapper_!"

Karin watched him warily. "So...you're not a kidnapper?"

"Of course I'm not! Who did you think I was?" the stranger asked, removing his hat and glasses to reveal snowy white hair and teal-green eyes.

Karin didn't need her sister to be there to know who this guy was. Yuzu had shown her enough pictures of him that she had his distinct features memorized by heart (and it wasn't because she thought he was cute).

He pressed a finger to his lips, warning her to stay silent. "Whatever you do, just don't scream my name!" he begged, eyes darting around as he quickly covered himself with his disguise again. He didn't want anyone to know that he was there.

She didn't think she could say anything in her current state of shock, let alone his name. She couldn't quite believe what was happening to her. Of all the people she could have meet while she was at the park, she just had to go and bump into _the _Toshiro Hitsugaya! She must have done something terrible in her past life to have bad luck like this. Oh, why couldn't it have been Yuzu instead of her?

After what felt like eternity, Karin finally managed to find her voice again. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Didn't you watch the news?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Oh, that. She really didn't want to be reminded of what had happened that morning. "No, I didn't. I'm not really into show biz and all," she muttered, "though my sister forced me to listen to some of it. It's your fault I had to wake up this early, you know," she complained, giving him a glare.

"That's a first," he commented, not sounding very sorry that he had woken her up. "Usually fans would do anything to see me. And by anything, I mean _anything."_

"I don't think I want to know," she said. "But what I meant was what are you doing _here, _in this park."

"I can go anywhere while I'm here, can't I?" he pointed out dryly, to which he received a snort in response. "Besides, I used to always come to this park when I was a kid," he added with a shrug. He was immediately relieved to find out that this girl wasn't an overly zealous fan. He really didn't think he could deal with them early in the morning. "That's why I wanted to come here especially."

"You're from Karakura Town?" she asked incredulously, remembering the time when Yuzu had told her that he was from somewhere else that was definitely _not _Karakura Town.

He nodded. "Yes, but I didn't want the public to know. Karakura is such a peaceful, quiet town, and that's one thing I wouldn't exchange for anything. I can't have papparazi swarming the place." He made a face at the thought.

She found herself agreeing with him. "But it's too late now," she remarked. "With you filming here, the world is bound to know that there's a town called Karakura in the middle of nowhere."

He let out a humorless laugh. "That's why I was so opposed to Matsumoto - my agent - choosing this location, but I couldn't very well tell her the truth. She thinks a small town will bring out the, er, 'romanticness' of the story."

"Screw romanticism," Karin grumbled, giving the soccer ball a good kick as though it was all the romance in the world. "Who cares about all that mushy crap anyway? I don't get people who enjoy watching other people kissing for their own amusement. Whatever happened to privacy?" _I also don't get people who think they would be able to get someone to fall in love with them if they have their sister meddle, _she added to herself, not daring to say it out loud. That wasn't something he needed to know.

This was the second time she'd surprised him in the short time they had known each other: one, she wasn't his fan, and two, she hated romance. He wondered what she would do next.

"Well, since you're here, do you want to play soccer with me?" she asked reluctantly when she noticed that he had remained silent for a while. "I was going to practice by myself, but it's always better to have someone else to kick the ball to. And I know you're good at it, so don't lie."

"Fine, I'll help," he assented. "I don't have anything better to do anyway. Just promise me one thing, miss - "

Karin debated whether she should tell him her name. Well, it wouldn't hurt, she decided. She probably won't ever see him again after this. "Kurosaki," she introduced herself. "Kurosaki Karin. But just Karin is fine, because there are loads of Kurosakis around here."

_Kurosaki. _She couldn't be _his _daughter, could she? "Karin. Please don't reveal our conversation to anyone. This will be our little secret," he winked at her.

She kicked the soccer ball at him. "Whatever."

"Your aim is pretty good, Karin. But your movement lacks speed," he commented, stopping the ball with his foot and sending it back to her with a swift kick of his own. "If you move faster, you'll be able to increase the force of the ball."

So now he was telling her what to do, huh? Karin didn't like to be ordered around, especially not by someone she disliked so much. "If power is what you want, then take this!" she growled, kicking it back at him with a new burst of strength.

He smirked. "That's better."

She was beginning to regret inviting him to play with her.

But as time passed, she had to admit that his tips were actually rather helpful, instructing her on things that she had never noticed before. And she was definitely (though reluctantly) impressed with his his soccer skills - he'd even flipped through the air and landed a flying kick on her!

"How are you so good at soccer?" she asked, panting, as they paused to take a break.

"Who knows?" he said mysteriously.

Karin jumped when her phone suddenly rang. She had been so engrossed by the game that she had completely forgotten about anything else. "Oh, crap, it's my sister!" she groaned, flipping on her phone. "Hello?"

"Karin-chan! Where on earth are you?" Yuzu practically screamed at her. "School started ten minutes ago!"

"School! Oh no!" Karin gasped, staring wide-eyed at him. "I'm coming now, Yuzu! No, I'm fine, I was practicing soccer, that's all." At least it wasn't completely a lie.

At the mention of school, Hitsugaya stood up too. "Let's go," he said, picking up the ball for her.

"Yes, let's go - wait a minute, why are you going too?" she demanded, realization dawning upon her.

"Didn't the news mention that I will be attending your school for the next few months? It's to prepare for my role as a high school student. It's been a while since I've been in school, after all," he explained, feeling amused as a look of horror spread across her face.

The one thing he had noticed about her was that she never bothered to hide her emotions, which was the complete opposite of him - as an actor, he was forced to hide behind a mask and pretend to be someone he wasn't. To him, she was refreshing; intriguing, even. He hadn't encountered anyone quite like her in the movie industry. The next few months was definitely going to be interesting with her around.

As Karin trailed after him, all _she_ could think of was the fact that the next few months of her life was going to be living hell. If she could survive, that is...

* * *

><p>An: I don't know why, but I always have a habit of starting new stories when I'm in the middle of tests /shot/. In any case, this is a new idea that I came up with, and I couldn't help but write it out.

Let me know if it's worth continuing with a review? ;)


	2. Chapter 2

"Kurosaki! What is the meaning of this?" Their teacher, Kushida-sensei, demanded furiously as Karin skidded to a halt outside her classroom.

She could feel the eyes of her classmates on her. No, rather, they were eyeing the person standing _next _to her, who just so happened to be Toshiro Hitsugaya. She was really hating her life right now, knowing that she was bound to be attacked by questions as soon as class was over.

As she stood there, trying to come up with an excuse as to why she was late, Toshiro smiled at the teacher and spoke for her. "I'm sorry for Kurosaki-san's behavior, sensei, but it's my fault that she's late. I bumped into her on the way to school, and since I'm new to Karakura Town, I asked her if she would show me around..."

Karin gapped at him. She knew first hand that what he was saying was a lie, yet he lied so smoothly that even _she _found herself believing him, if she hadn't known any better.

Their teacher coughed nervously. She was momentarily dazzled by his words before she quickly went on, "In any case, Hitsugaya-san will be joining our class for the next few months. Please make him and, as I said earlier, Hinamori-san feel welcomed."

Excited voices buzzed throughout the class. Karin deadpanned when she heard one girl say loudly, "You're welcomed in my house, Toshiro-kun!"

Karin walked to her seat, stopping when she saw that there was another person she had never met before sitting behind her. This girl was definitely very pretty, and Karin could see why such a person would catch Hitsugaya's eye. _So this is Hinamori Momo, _she realized, as the other girl smiled at Karin in greeting. Karin nodded curtly back, suddenly feeling self-conscious and wondering why the hell would Hitsugaya choose her specifically to be his "guide" when there were so many more prettier girls in Karakura Town.

_It's because you kicked the ball into his_ _face_, the voice in her head reminded her.

Oh.

Duh.

He probably wouldn't had even considered her otherwise.

Karin groaned in dismay when Hitsugaya sat down in the seat next to her. It just so happened to be empty, but Karin swore it had been occupied by a classmate just yesterday. _Did Hitsugaya kick them out so he could sit next to her? _

Great. Now she was surrounded by celebrities, _and_ her twin was giving her glares from across the room. She really didn't know how she would be able to concentrate with the jealous looks her classmates were giving her.

"You answered that wrong, by the way," Hitsugaya's voice sounded so close to Karin's ear that it made her jump in surprise. She turned her head quickly to find him leaning across his table, pointing at her homework with his pencil. "It's supposed to be X to the negative first power, not X to the second power."

She glared at him. "Thanks very much, know-it-all."

He gave her a smirk in return. "Think of it as my appreciation for this morning."

Only once Karin had made sure that he was no longer watching her did she discretely erase her incorrect answer and change it.

* * *

><p>The bell rang after what felt like eternity, signaling the beginning of lunch. Karin leapt out of her seat eagerly, grabbed the bento that Yuzu had made for her, and headed for the library. She knew that the librarian, Osawa-sensei, would flip if she found out Karin was eating in her "heaven", but if she sat in the back where no one usually checked, she might be able to get away with it.<p>

The keyword here is _might_.

But whether Karin wanted to or not, she was on an important life-or-death mission. And she had to use every second to secure the best outcome of Operation-Pair-My-Sister-with-That-Guy (yes, she had just named it).

She hid her bento under her shirt as she walked in, nodding politely to Osawa-sensei.

"Hello there, Karin-san. Are you here to cram for an afternoon test?" she asked in her falsely sweet voice.

Karin cringed. That was the only reason students would ever came in here voluntarily - which was quite sad, considering that in a few years Osawa-sensei would probably lose her job if no one ever showed up. "Uh-huh," Karin mumbled vaguely, neither denying nor confirming her accusation. "Just...research."

Osawa-sensei seemed satisfied enough. "If you need help with anything, let me know!"

Karin eyed her empty ring finger, thinking that there was no way she could ask the librarian for relationship advice. She weaved through the bookshelves and desks to the computer room.

There was only one other kid in the room, and he was too busy playing some sort of computer game to notice her (definitely not cramming).

She picked a desktop in the far back corner and sat down nervously. She held her breath as she typed her query ("How to force a celebrity to fall in love with your sister") into the search bar, feeling as though she was doing something very illegal.

Yeah...like other people would have _this_ sort of problem. She snorted.

A few pages later, an article that read _How to have someone fall in love with your twin sister_ caught her eye. That seemed like the dilemma she was in now, so she clicked the link, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

_Are you in the following dilemma? Are you more popular than your twin sister, and want her to find happiness just like you? Then you've come to the right place!_

_First, tell your current boyfriend. We'll label him Boy A. We don't want him to have a misunderstanding that you are cheating on him. _

_Secondly, find a boy that you deem suitable for your twin. Interact with Boy B, with your own personality, until he falls in love with you. Don't tell him you have a twin sister at all costs!_

_Finally, have your twin step in, pretending to be you. And there you have it! _

_If you liked our article and found it useful, please rate five stars and feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear your success stories!_

Karin wrinkled her nose, wondering what the hell she was reading and who on earth would write something like this. She skimmed through the comments, from _OMG thank you sooo much for the advice! _to _Don't listen to them! This is a scam! _and let out a long sigh.

The Earth's future was definitely looking grim if it was going to be ruled by these crazy people. Who would write an article like this? Maybe they were drunk...

"Oi, Kurosaki."

She jumped at the voice, quickly closing the window. She looked up to see Hitsugaya watching her with faint amusement in his eyes, and she prayed that he hadn't seen what she was reading.

"W-What are you doing here?" she stammered.

He shrugged. "I was looking around the school, and I happened to see you here. Why are _you _here?"

Karin picked at a grain of rice, carefully choosing her words. "I was hiding from my sister," she said, which is half-true. "She's probably still mad that I showed up at school with you of all people. Er...I don't mean it like it's a bad thing, I just mean that she's a huge fan of you and she's always wanted to meet you and she's probably really jealous of me right now..."

Now she was rambling. Karin mentally slapped herself. Would Hitsugaya think she was one of his crazy fangirls, the kind who wouldn't stop rambling when they saw him?

She broke off when he suddenly approached her, bending and pulling out a notebook out of her backpack without asking for permission. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. She couldn't stop staring as he tore off a page and reached into his pocket for a pen.

"Shh," he shushed her, "We're in a library, after all."

Karin cranked her neck to read his words as he began to write on the page.

_Dear Yuzu, _

_I hope you will forgive me for stealing your sister for a few moments this morning. Please accept this as my apology._

_Love, _

_Toshiro Hitsugaya_

"Here," he said, giving it to her. "This ought to be enough. See you in class, Kurosaki."

Karin was left staring at the writing in shock. She was pretty sure she had never mentioned Yuzu's name in their conversation, so how did he know what her name is? Shaking her head in puzzlement, she finished off her lunch and left to search for her sister.

* * *

><p>She found Yuzu barely a few moments later.<p>

"Karin-chan, there you are! I was looking all over for you!" Yuzi whined, tugging on Karin's sleeve.

Karin glared at her, feeling as though she was hiding something. "Don't lie, Yuzu."

Yuzu held up her hands in defeat, pouting in annoyance. Sometimes Yuzu was so cute that Karin wondered why she would fall in love with Hitsugaya, and not one of their other good-looking classmates. Oh...wait, Hitsugaya was now technically their classmate, too.

Never mind.

"Okay, fine, Karin-chan. I was following Hitsugaya-kun and saw him come in here. Was he talking to you!?" she accused, pointing a finger at Karin. "You remember our promise, right? It wouldn't do for you to spend time with him! He'll never notice me!"

"He wanted me to give you this," she explained truthfully, dropping the paper into Yuzu's outstretched hand.

Yuzu's eyes widened as she saw his note. "Is today my birthday, Karin-chan? I feel like my dreams have all just come true!"

"Well, happy birthday," Karin muttered sarcastically as Yuzu gushed on, "I have to go and thank him! Kya~!" and ran off without saying another word to Karin.

Karin rolled her eyes. Her sister really was hopeless sometimes. _At least I'm one step closer to succeeding the plan_, she mused, then frowned when she further thought about the issue at hand. She may have succeeded in introducing them, but how on earth was she to actually _get_ the two of them together?

She didn't have any experience with relationships, for god's sake! All she really cared about was soccer and school, but never boys.

Whatever was she going to do?

* * *

><p>An: Here is the second chapter! sorry for the long wait.. (I was having issues finding a good ending place for the chapter).

Thank you so much for your reviews for the first chapter! They definitely made my day and kept me inspired to keep writing :) if anyone has any ideas for Karin's plan, feel free to let me know! this should be fun ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Karin was lost.

Not literally, because she knew perfectly well where she was going.

She was mentally lost.

She didn't think reading dating magazines and how-to-get-boys-to-fall-for-you articles would help her sister's lost cause, but despite that, she wanted Yuzu to be happy. Otherwise, who knew what she would do – steal her own boyfriend?

Like she even had one. Ha.

Wait a minute…if she didn't have one, she would have to get one! Karin's eyes lit up, finally having a lead she could go off of. She could use what she learns from her own to-be relationship to help her sister.

But then again, Yuzu was more into the girly stuff than she was. Why would she count on Karin to pair them up and not find one of her other girly friends? Oh, wait, all her other girly friends probably wanted Hitsugaya for themselves.

She was so deep in thought that she almost ran straight into Momo Hinamori.

"I…I'm sorry!" she said quickly, looking up at the celebrity.

"Oh, no worries," Momo said, her voice filled with a soft sweetness that Karin's never had. "I wasn't looking where I was going, either, so it's also partially my fault. Why don't we make up and start over? I'll even invite you to dinner!"

Karin shook her head frantically. "That's not necessary, Hinamori-san. I couldn't – "

"No, I insist," she took Karin's hand and squeezed it. "Besides, Shiro-chan said I should try making friends while I'm here. Makes me feel more like I'm back in high school, and things like that."

_Shiro-chan?_

"I-I mean, Hitsugaya-kun," she corrected, a cute blush creeping onto her cheeks. Karin never blushed like that. "So, are you free this weekend, Kurosaki-san?"

"Karin," she corrected. "Call me Karin. It's better to not mix my sister and I up, anyway."

"Then call me Momo!" she requested, her eyes shining. "No need to be so formal, you know." She pulled out her phone, the newest smartphone model that was years above the ancient one that Karin owned, and showed her phone number to the younger girl. "Here, my number. Make sure to text me!"

With a wink, she headed on, completely unaware of the jealous looks boys were sneaking at Karin from nearby classrooms.

Karin stood in a daze. Her brain hadn't completely registered what had just happened. She might not be into show biz, but a celebrity had just offered her her number, and asked to be her friend!

This was the first step to the non-existent plan that she desperately needed. Maybe Momo would be able to help...

No, no, she told herself. From her behavior earlier, Momo seemed to still have feelings for her fellow star.

_Good luck, sis. Looks like you have competition. _ Karin mused, smirking to herself. If Momo and Hitsugaya got together again, she wouldn't have to interfere and her sister would give up her crush. It would all be for the best.

But at the moment, she still had to do _something_ for her sister.

* * *

><p>Karin barely paid attention to her afternoon classes, instead daydreaming about soccer balls and certain white-haired boys. She breathed a sigh of relief as the last bell rang, and she all but ran home, eager to escape the horror known as high school drama.<p>

"Karin-chan!" Isshin Kurosaki sang, leaping for his daughter with his arms wide open. Karin responded with a back fist strike to his face, sending him collapsing comically onto the floor. "You grow more and more like your brother everyday," he sobbed, gazing fondly at the poster of Karin's mother on the wall. "Oh, Masaki, what am I going to do with our daughter? She's turning into a man!"

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "That's ridiculous, Dad. I'm not turning into a man!"

"But she will, unless she starts changing now," Yuzu interjected, having finally arrived herself. She beamed at Karin. "Want me to dress you up, Karin-chan?"

She stared at Yuzu in horror. Just the thought of wearing dresses was terrifying enough. "No, thank you!"

Yuzu pouted cutely. "Fine, Karin-chan, but you're wearing a dress to prom whether you like it or not!"

Their dad gave Yuzu a thumbs up and grinned.

"Oh, alright," Karin said grumpily. When both her dad _and _sister turned against her, there was nothing she could say that would persuade them otherwise. Now, if Ichi-nii had been here, that would be a different question...but sadly, he was away. She ignored Yuzu's giggles and stomped into their shared room, making sure to shut the door loudly behind her.

Pulling out her phone, she remembered her promise to Momo earlier and sent her a message. _This is Karin from school! Hope you're settling in fine!_

She had barely set her phone down when it buzzed back with Momo's reply. _Hello, Karin-chan! We're doing great! In fact, both Hitsugaya-kun and I will be going shopping in a few minutes - would you like to join us? ;) _

Uh-oh. This was completely new territory to Karin. She had next to zero experience when it came to shopping, as the only shirts she owned were passed down from Ichi-nii or things she stole from Yuzu's gigantic hidden stash.

But then again...maybe Yuzu had been right. She needed to start trying new things now, and what better way than to learn from someone as cute and girly as Momo?

The thought alone made Karin cringe, and she wondered when her subconscious had betrayed her.

Her silence lasted longer than she thought, for her phone had buzzed again with an unknown number this time. Frowning, she gingerly picked it up, as though it would explode at any moment. She was always wary of unfamiliar callers.

_Oi, Kurosaki, you owe me one. Hurry up and get over here._

That tone…it couldn't be Hitsugaya, could it? Karin sighed, reluctantly replying with _Okay, okay, I'm coming. Where should we meet? _

She jumped off her bed and changed into her practice clothes, consisting of black shorts and a large white shirt that had once been Ichigo's.

_Same place as this morning._

The newest message made Karin's stomach do a little dance, but she had no idea why. Dismissing the strange feeling for nerves, she called to her father that she would be out for a while before leaving for her beloved park, all the while thinking that she must have made a terrible choice and dreading what was to come.

This was going to turn out badly. She knew it.

* * *

><p>An: I'm really sorry for the late update! I had a bit of writer's block so I couldn't think of anything good to write OTL /slapped/

this chapter is short, but the next one will be longer! Plus Karin gets to shop with Shiro-chan ;) Ohoho, what will go wrong there?

Thank you so much for all your reviews! They inspire me to keep writing, so this chapter is dedicated to every wonderful reviewer~


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